Al-Amali, The Dictations of Shaykh al-Mufid

Thirteenth Assembly

Met on Saturday, 19th Rajab, in the year 407. The grand Sheikh al-Mufid Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu’man - may Allah perpetuate His beneficence upon him, said today:

  1. "I fear for my Ummah about three things. . ."

He said: Abu Hafs Umar ibn Muhammad al-Sayrafi reported to me from ‘Ali ibn Mahrawayh al-Qazwini, who reported from Dawood ibn Sulaiman al-Ghari, who reported from al-Ridha ‘Ali ibn Musa, who reported form his father Musa ibn Ja'far, who reported from his father Ja'far ibn Muhammad, who reported from his father Muhammad ibn ‘Ali, who reported from his father ‘Ali ibn Husayn, who reported from his father al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali, who reported from his father Amirul Mu’mineen ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon them all, that:

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "I fear for my Ummah about three things: Going astray after having recognized the truth; and being misled by the trials and the ordeals; and the base desires incited by lust and hunger."
 

  1. On Ramadhan

He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Umar al-Ji’abi reported to me from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Sulaiman ibn Ziyad al-Maruzi, who reported from Ubaidullah ibn Muhammad al-Ayshi, who reported from Hammad ibn Salemah, from Ayyub, from Abu Qalabah, from Abu Hurairah, who reported that:

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "This is the month of Ramadhan, a blessed month, in which Allah has made its fasts obligatory. In it, He opens the gates of Paradise and in it, Satan is put into shackles. There is a night in it, which is worthier than thousand months; whoever misses it he is indeed deprived." He used to repeat it three times.

  1. Beware of the company of the sinners

He said: Abul Qasim Ja'far ibn Muhammad reported to me from his father, from Sa'd ibn Abdillah, from Ahmad ibn Abu Abdillah al-Barqi, who reported from Bakr ibn Swalah al-Razi, from Sulaiman ibn Ja'far al-Ja'fari, who said:

I heard Abul Hasan, peace be upon him, saying to my father: "How is that I saw you at Abdul Rahman ibn Yaqoob?" He said: "He is my uncle." So Abul Hasan, peace be upon him said: "He says appalling things about Allah, defining Him, while Allah cannot be described. So, you either sit with him and leave us, or you sit with us and leave him!" My father said: "Shall I not sit with him even if I do not ascribe to what he says?"

Abul Hasan, peace be upon him, said: "Do you not fear that a divine wrath may descend and afflict you all?" Do you not know that there was a companion of Musa and his father was a partisan of Pharoah (Fira'wn). When the horses of Pharoah drew near Musa, peace be upon him, that companion stayed behind to admonish his father.

And Musa saw him and his father engaged in the dispute, till they reached the sea and both were drowned together. When Musa learnt about this, he asked Jibraeel about his companion's destiny. He said: "May Allah have mercy on him, the man drowned and was not in any way associated with the belief of his father. But when the divine wrath descends, it grants no defense to those near the sinners."

  1. "How is that you are prone to disobedience after I have gone?"

He said: Abul Hasan Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Hasan ibn al-Waleed reported to me from his father, from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Saffar, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa, from al-Hasan ibn Mahboob, from Abu Jameelah, from Aban ibn Taghlib, who reported that:

Abu Abdillah Ja'far ibn Muhammad, peace be upon him said: The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, learnt that a group among the Quraish was saying: "Muhammad thinks that he has firmly connected this matter (of succession after him) with his Ahlul Bayt, but when he dies, we shall snatch it away from them and place it among others." The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, came to them and addressed: "O people of Quraish, how is that you are prone to disobedience after I have gone? Do you wish to see me with a detachment of my companions hitting your faces and necks with the sword?"

Then Jibraeel, peace be upon him, descended and said: "O Muhammad! Your Sustainer sends you peaceful greetings and commands: "Say, Allah willing, and ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib." The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Allah willing, and ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, who will attend to that among you."

  1. "O ‘Ali! You are the master. . . "

He said: Muhammad ibn Imran al-Marzbani reported to me from Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa al-Makki, who reported from Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who reported from Abdul Rahman ibn Swaleh, who reported from Muhammad ibn Sa'd al-Ansari, who reported from Umar ibn Abdillah Ibn Ya'la ibn Murrah, from his father, from his grandfather Ya'la ibn Murrah, who said:

I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, say to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him, "O ‘Ali! You are the master of the people after I have gone. So whoever obeys you, obeys me; and whoever disobeys you, disobeys me."

  1. ‘Ali (as)'s soul was the first to greet the Prophet (SAW)

He said: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Umar al-Ji’abi reported to me from Abu Abdillah Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-Muharibi, who reports from Ismail ibn Ishaq al-Rashidi, who reported from Muhammad ibn al-Harith, who reported from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, from Muslim al-A'awar, from Habbah al-Arni, from Abu al-Haytham ibn al-Teehan al-Ansari, who reported that:

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Allah, Most High, created the souls two thousand years earlier then the bodies, attached it to the Throne and ordered them to greet me and obey me. So the first one among men who greeted me and expressed his obedience to me was the soul of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, peace be upon him."

  1. Miqdad and Uthman

He said: Abul Hasan ‘Ali ibn Bilal al-Mahlabi reported to me from ‘Ali ibn Abdillah al-Ishfahani, who reported from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Thaqafi who reported from Yusuf ibn Saeed al-Arhabi, who reported from Ubaidullah ibn Musa al-Abasi, from Kamil, from Habib ibn Ibn Abi Thabit, who said:

When the people entered the house for consultation (al-Shura), al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad al-Kindi - may Allah bless him with mercy, said: "Allow me in with you for I am sincere and faithful to Allah and I have something good for you." They refused. Then he said: "Allow me to enter my head and listen to me." They refused even that.

Then he said: "If you do not allow me, then (let me advise that) do not swear allegiance to the one who has not witnessed (the battle of) Badr, and who was not present at the allegiance of al-Ridhwan and was routed on the day of Uhud, when the two groups met."

Uthman said: "By Allah, if the authority is given to me, I shall indeed, send you back to your first lord." And when al-Miqdad was dying, he said: "Inform Uthman that I am being returned to my first and the last lord!" When Uthman learnt of his death, he came to his grave and said: "May Allah bless you with mercy, you were (good), in spite of what you were (i.e. my opponent)!"

Then he praised him. (Upon hearing this) al-Zubair said (to Uthman): "I will let you know me (better) after death, when you lament over me, while during my lifetime, you did not allow me my subsintence."

He (i.e. Uthman) said: "O Zubair, you say this? Do you think I like to see such a companion of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, die while he is resentful against me?"

  1. Allah will not accept acts of worship from one who has no love for the authority of Ahlul Bayt

He said: Abul Qasim Ja'far ibn Muhammad reported to me from his father, from Sa'd ibn Abdillah, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa, from al-Hasan ibn Mahboob, from Hisham, from Murazim who reported from al-Sadiq, Ja'far ibn Muhammad, peace be upon him, who reported that:

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "What has happened to some people in my Ummah, who become cheerful and jubilant when Ibrahim and the progeny of Ibrahim are mentioned to them; but when I and my progeny are mentioned, they detest it and frown at it! By He Who sent me as a truthful Prophet, if a person dies after having performed the (good) deeds of 70 Prophets, but he has no liking for the authority of our Ahlul Bayt, Allah will not accept his obligatory or voluntary acts of worship."

  1. Allah protects the righteous

He said: Abul Hasan ‘Ali ibn Bilal al-Mahlabi reported to me from ‘Ali ibn Abdillah al-Ishfahani, who reported from Ibrahim b Muhammad al-Thaqafi, who reported from Muhammad ibn ‘Ali, who reported from Ibrahim ibn Harasah, who reported from Ja'far ibn Ziyad al-Ahmar, who reported that Zaid ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon him, once read the verse:

'And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town and there was beneath it a treasure belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man. So your Sustainer (i.e. Allah) willed that they should attain their maturity and bring forth their treasure....' (al-Kahf, 18: 82)

Then he said: "Allah guarded their treasure because of their father's righteousness; so who is worthier for the best protection than us? The messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, is our grandfather and his daughter, the leading lady of the women of Paradise, is our mother. And the first one to confirm his faith in Allah, His Oneness, and to offer prayers to Him was our father."

  1. On the day when repentance will not benefit

He said: Abul Hasan ‘Ali ibn Malik al-Nahwi reported to me from Muhammad ibn al-Fadhl, who reported from Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Katib, who reported from Yamoot ibn al-Muzarra', who reported from Isa ibn Ismail from Al-Asmaee', who said:

Once, I heard a Bedouin, before whom a monarch had been mentioned, saying: "If they have attained honour in this world by injustice and tyranny, they will definitely be disgraced by justice in the next world. They have contented themselves with little, leaving aside plenty, with insignificant things, setting aside that which is weightier. They will meet with forfeiture on the day when repentance will not benefit."

And Abul Hasan recited the following couplets by Abu al-Ata'hiya:
"Glory to the Master of all Dominions!
What a night will it be, which will
bear the dawn of the Day of Judgement?
If a person were to imagine himself, how he will look
on the day of Judgement,
he may never glance at it.
Allah has destined all man to extinction;
Some go earlier and some lay behind."
And may Allah bless our master Muhammad, the Prophet and his progeny.